Surfer Is Disqualified From Competition For Pulling The Biggest Bro Move In History

Earlier this month Argentine professional surfer Martin Passeri was disqualified from the Argentina Surf Championship, a competition Passeri has won five times before. Why was he qualified? For pulling off the biggest bro move in history. And when I say ‘biggest bro move in history’ I’m not using hyperbole here, I truly think that what caused Martin Passeri to be disqualified from the competition was just that, the biggest bro move in history.

In the video above you see a quick overview of what took place during one of Martin Passeri’s heats in competition. The five-time Argentinian surfing champ stood on the sand next to Nicolas Gallegos, who at 18-years-old was paralyzed from the waist down. Prior to the accident that took Gallegos’ ability to walk he’d always dreamed of surfing, after the accident he never dreamed that catching a wave was possible.

Enter the 5x champion and favorite of the Argentina Surf Championship, Martin Passeri, who put his hand on Gallegos’ shoulder who was watching the competition from the beach, and offered to take him out and help him catch his first wave. This all took place in the middle of competition, which caused Passeri to be disqualified. But who gives a crap about disqualification or winning a competition when you have the chance to touch someone and change their life in such a meaningful way?!

Here they are getting up on the wave together:

The Inertia reports:

The five-time Argentinian surf champion is no stranger to the podium. So when he stopped short on the sand on his way out to his heat, everyone was surprised.

He stopped next to Nicolas Gallegos, who sat in his wheelchair on the sand. At 18, he was paralyzed from the waist down, cutting his dream of learning to surf short. But when Passeri stopped on the sand twenty years after the accident, his dream would come true.

Martin Passeri touched Gallegos’s shoulder and offered to take him out to catch is first wave… in the middle of a heat. Passeri was later disqualified, but winning isn’t always about the trophy. “I believe that was the best wave,” he said, “and the biggest triumph of my life.”

The ultimate bro move. Just remember that in life, sometimes things that might not seem like a big deal to you can mean the world to someone else. So try and make a difference whenever possible in the lives of those bros around you.

You can find Martin Passeri on Twitter or Facebook if you’re interested in dropping him a line and telling him how awesome it was to take himself out of competition to change a man’s life.

UPDATE: The ‘ASOCIACION DE SURF ARGENTINA’ sent us a letter claiming he was not disqualified and instead lost the competition to a better surfer. Here’s what they had to say to us:

“Estimados

Ante noticias aparecidas referidas a la supuesta descalificación del señor Martín Passeri de un torneo de surf , basados en la causal de haber transportado a un joven parapléjico para que surfeara por primera vez una ola , la Asociación de Surf Argentina se hace un deber INFORMAR:-

1) Que efectivamente, tomó conocimiento del gesto del señor Martín Passeri de haber cumplido el sueño de surfear una ola del joven Nicolás Gallegos quien, por su estado físico le resultaba imposible.-

2) Que en una actitud que lo enaltece , el citado señor Passeri , y en la playa WAIKIKI (Punta Mogotes) , procedió a cumplir con el referido sueño y puso sobre sus hombros al nombrado Nicolás Gallegos ,y de esa manera pudo surfear una ola .-

3) Que con fecha 17 al 23 de enero, la Asociación de Surf Argentina fiscalizo un torneo de surf ( REEF 2015) , el que se desarrolló en la Playa “MARIANO” de Mar del Plata . O sea, en un ámbito absolutamente diferente de aquél utilizado por el señor Passeri para realizar su obra de bien.-

4) Que en el referido torneo, los jueces consideraron que el joven SANTIAGO MUÑIZ, debía ser considerado ganador del torneo, por la capacidad exhibida y la calidad de su actuación en las olas.

5) Que – obviamente – , el hecho que otro participante haya surfeado mejor que el señor Passeri ( a criterio de los jueces designados ) , no implica mas que eso :- una evaluación de un participante mejor que la de otro . Hecho este para el cual esta Asociación considera encontrarse perfectamente calificada.-

6) Que sin embargo, han aparecido noticias engañosas respecto a los hechos que se han relatado, pretendiendo que esta la Asociación de Surf Argentina habría descalificado al señor Martín Passeri como consecuencia del noble gesto que le tuvo como protagonista.
Y tal cosa es FALSA, por todo lo que precedentemente hemos expuesto.-

Muchas Gracias

ASOCIACION DE SURF ARGENTINA”